♪♪ good morning, everyone. it's saturday, march 26th. i'm andrea mitchell live in warsaw, poland. several big developments on a very windy morning in poland. president biden is meeting with ukraine's top officials, defense minister and foreign policy minister with defense secretary austin and secretary of state antony blink. this could be a major shift of policy in moscow. a top general saying their goals

are only to retake the eastern part of ukraine and donbas, largely controlled since 2014 by russia, instead of taking the whole country and toppling the government. so more on that in just a moment. and here in warsaw, the president is set to meet with poland's president duda before meeting for the first time with refugees, something he's really wanted to do and aid workers, many coming from the u.s. and later he'll give what the white house is calling a major speech in an address with poland as poland struggles to accommodate more than 2 million people who have come as refugees from ukraine. a senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell is with me here in poland and correspondent ali arouzi is live in lviv, ukraine. let's start with you, kelly, a big day for president biden, of course meeting with the ukrainian foreign minister for the first time since two days before the invasion back in washington, meeting with the

defense minister, he's already said, kelly, as you know, to white house reporters traveling with him that he really wanted to go to ukraine, but they told him he couldn't obviously for security reasons but he wanted to see it for himself and he's getting the best possible firsthand briefing from those who have been calling for more jets, more anti tank missiles. president zelenskyy did yet again today. kelly? >> reporter: andrea, you get the sense this would be the meeting where the most substantive conversations with president biden and ukrainian officials can take place about specific needs they may have and president biden, who in his past public life has spent a lot of time in ukraine, knows the country well and he did talk about wanting to be there personally and so in this session, we got some pictures at the beginning of it, but i think they're probably really getting down to specifics about the ways that the u.s. can help, in addition to other countries and nato partners and so forth, but

specific ways u.s. military aid can be of use, the ways u.s. intelligence can be of use so this is a critical meeting. at the same time today we'll also hear from the president after he has a chance to meet with president duda of poland. that also a key alliance. now on some issues on the global stage, president duda and president biden don't always see eye to eye on the issue of ukraine. they have forged a good partnership and today from official kinds of interactions to the very personal firsthand experiences with the president getting to meet people who have fled their homes because they have been in the line of fire from russia's unprovoked war on ukraine, he'll get to see and experience that by talking to refugees, hearing their personal stories, meeting aid workers as well, some of the people who have rushed to try to provide the kind of immediate help that refugees need, from food to shelter to medical care he'll

have that experience today and wrap up his visit with what the white house considers is significant speech where the president talks about the need to protect democracy against the rise of autocracy and he'll root that in the polish environment that we're here in this visit to poland and the multistop two-country visit of the president because poland has long had a history of standing against russia and before that against the soviet union to try to speak for people who want to determine their own future. so it will be an important speech for the president, so much to accomplish both in the official realm and the personal realm today. andrea? >> of course the nazi occupation of poland, the struggles of this country as it's gone over the decades and how important nato has been nato entry to poland, although a clear irassistant to vladimir putin. let's go to lviv, ukraine and

ali arouzi, with potentially, we don't want to overinterpret it but this could be the first sign that vladimir putin might be eventually willing to declare victory for his own purposes, but conceding that this military invasion has been a strategic disaster for them. the ukrainian resistance far better than anyone especially u.s. intelligence, nato intelligence estimated, and that they have to make some kind of a tactical retreat perhaps into negotiations. ali? >> reporter: good morning, andrea. that's right. the emphasis certainly seems to have shifted but as you said, it's probably far too early to tell. we haven't heard from vladimir putin and as we know, all the decisions in this war are solely being made by him. now, we heard from that top russian general this morning saying that the first part of what the russians call a special

military operation has been mostly completed, and that now they are, according to the russians, going to try and liberate the areas of donetsk and luhansk. there's a concerted effort to take as much of that territory as they possibly can but that doesn't mean everything has changed. look, the ukrainians have pushed back very hard in and around kyiv. they've made a lot of gains there, a lot of the places that the russians had initially taken weeks ago are at least partially back in the hands of the ukrainians, and when we heard from general rudskoy, it certainly does indicate the russian military plan has not been what they envisaged when they had 150,000 troops amassed on the border here. it wasn't a straight run into kyiv as they hoped and and the russians are plagued by military problems. they're having logistical

problems, morale is very low, from the military experts we've spoken to, they've spread themselves way too thin, and yesterday, president zelenskyy had said the russians may have lost up to 16,000 troops. now, nbc news can't independently verify that, but that would be very significant, andrea, because if they lost that many troops in the first month of this war, that would be roughly the same number of troops they lost in afghanistan over a ten-year period, that would be an unmitigated disaster for them. nonetheless, they are still around in kyiv. they may be concerting their efforts in the east of the country, but i think they still have a plan. look, i don't think they're going to leave mariupol alone. it's a very strategic place for the russians. they bombed that city into oblivion, even though the ukrainians are still putting up a fierce fight, the russians want that. it's going to create that land corridor between crimean

peninsula and the donetsk region, it will choke off the ukrainian economy because that's a key port for them where they send many of their goods out to the middle east and to the rest of the world from them. so there's probably going to be a lot more bombing in mariupol, the russians may be regrouping but it's anybody's guess what vladimir putin is willing to do next and a lot of the people are worried about that. they take it with a grain of salt this is concentrated on donetsk and think he is capable of doing anything. andrea? >> thanks to ali arouzi and to kelly o'donnell here with me in warsaw, and let's bring in our next panel, william kohn, the former defense secretary in bill clinton's administration, and william taylor, former u.s. ambassador to ukraine and a long-time observer of this region and of course of vladimir putin as well.

secretary kohn, to you, i don't want to overinterpret what we heard from the russian general but we have not seen the russian defense minister for some time. they have not been in touch with their counterparts in a month which is very unusual, even in times of conflict. none of that military-to-military deconfliction communication. what do we think is going on? is it too early or are we perhaps seeing a glimmer that vladimir putin is going to, you know, trim his losses at the same time as we hear he's calling in reinforcements from georgia. >> i think it is too early. we're giving to supposition at this point. it could be president putin, having seen how this mission has been carried out with disastrous consequences has decided to either remove him and replace

him with another general or he's simply spending more time in his war council trying to figure out what his next move is going to be, so i don't think we know. we're left to speculate about where the general is, but there's no question that putin's mission has been flawed in terms of its planning, flawed in the execution and now has very poor morale as far as the young conscripts hit by the ukrainian hiding force which has been extraordinary. too early to tell. good thing they're putting up a fight. it's almost as if it's the rocky balboa story where you have someone outgunned, outmatched, outsized and yet putting up a fight, but has the russians on their heel. >> indeed, and william taylor, this first meeting so important

between president biden and the ukrainian officials since the invasion. we know that president zelenskyy is still calling for more stingers, more javelins, significantly more weapons and the ukrainians were disappointed in the nato summit in terms of not getting the jets, not getting the tanks they wanted. u.s. officials likely told them today what we're hearing from them, they don't think that they can quickly learn how to use abrams tanks and how they can get what they really want, so where do they go forward from here in terms of what ukraine is getting and wants from the u.s. and what we're able to deliver or willing to deliver? >> andrea, we saw that president zelenskyy addressed the nato summit, and it was interesting what he asked for and what he didn't ask for. he didn't ask for nato membership. he knows, he's heard that. he knows what the answer is, at least for now. he didn't ask for a no-fly zone.

he knows what the answer is. he didn't ask again. what he did ask for and what i imagine the minister of defense and the minister of foreign affairs asked for and had discussions with president biden, and secretary blinken and secretary austin about were security guarantees. that's what president zelenskyy asked the nato summit for, and i'm sure that's the focus of the discussion between u.s. and ukrainian officials today. security guaranties, not real securities they need going forward. that's what they make sure that they exist, that they exist with insecurity going forward so i think that's a big part of the discussion. >> secretary cohen, let's talk about the president and the

refugees. you've witnessed a lot of presidents over the years. how important is it for him to have a firsthand experience with the humanitarian costs here of what the ukrainians are experiencing and what poland is experiencing. >> i think president joe biden has had a long history of dealing with these issues. if there's one thing that would characterize president biden, it's his compassion for empathy, the ability to identify with people who have been hurt, who have been displaced, who have been dislodged from everything that was there just a month ago, so in terms of his heart, he'll do whatever is reasonably possible. i think that it's good for him to be visiting with our soldiers in poland, and polish soldiers as well to say i understand what the mission is, that you understand it and i thank you very much on behalf not only of the american people, but all of the western countries. this is an assault upon civilization. this is an assault upon freedom,

democracy, and the ability to choose your own way of life. so it's not just against ukraine. president putin has said he wants all of the countries that entered nato since 1997 to become back under the russian prism, brought back into the russian prism. every country in europe has a real stake here that the ukrainians are carrying out the battle now but what president biden is saying to call, this is an international fight that is carrying on and putin is desiring to take back all that he feels the soviet union lost when the wall came down. >> and briefly, secretary cohen, how real do you think the threat is that vladimir putin would use chemicals? the ukrainians say he used phosphorous bombs which are not chemicals but they are banned weapons against civilians.

the real threat of weapons of mass destruction, of chemicals, biological, worst case nuclear, if he's really cornered? >> i think he's capable of anything. i think he's capable of anything, when you look what he has done, shooting babies, his soldiers killing young children, blowing their arms off, blowing their bodies apart, raping the women who survive, slaughtering them on a massive scale. i don't think he'll have any hesitancy to do what he feels he has to do to dominate the battle, but the caution here should be, the cautionary note, if he does, in fact, break all the rules dealing with chemical and biological and possibly nuclear weapons, he has opened this battle up to a much different level, at that point you may see the united states furnishing ukrainians with aircraft and other means of security that they don't have right now, so i think it's very

dangerous for him to undertake that. if he does, we need to be prepared, giving them certainly the ability to defend themselves in a chemical environment and biological environment situation, but i think that at that point, if he crosses that threshold, i think all bets are off in terms of what the united states and the nato countries are prepared to do in return. >> and we should point out for everyone that of course those kinds of weapons know no border and we've got u.s. troops from the 82 airborne whom the president met with just yesterday on this side of the border as well. we have a real stake in this in so many levels, as does everything everyone who loves freedom and democracy and what these ukrainians have managed to show us. thanks so much, secretary cohen and ambassador taylor. thanks to both of you. coming up, there are growing concerns, of course, that belarus could soon join.

they're already in putin's orbit, and helped him stage this war but they could be sending troops and helping him in other ways as well. we'll talk to an the ex-opposition leader about her fight to keep belarusian troops out of the conflict. that's next. and everyone on social media is trying me. i'm trending so hard that “hashtag common sense” can't keep up. this is going to get tens and tens of views. ♪ ♪ ( car crashing ) ♪ ♪ but if you don't have the right auto insurance coverage, you could be left to pay for this... yourself. call a local agent or 1-888-allstate for a quote today. if you really wanna find out what you're made of, you can forget the personality tests and social media quizzes. because the only way you're ever gonna know is by heading into the big, wild, raging

so-damned-beautiful- it-hurts world and finding out for yourself. were you born to follow a path? or were you born free? these are the things we thought about when we made the new grand cherokee. made for what you're made of. ♪ ♪ ♪♪ i'm getting vaccinated with prevnar 20. so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. i'm asking about prevnar 20. because there's a chance pneumococcal pneumonia could put me in the hospital. if you're 65 or older you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. prevnar 20 is approved in adults to help prevent infections from 20 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. in just one dose. even if you've already been vaccinated with another pneumonia vaccine, ask your doctor if prevnar 20 could help provide additional protection. don't get prevnar 20 if you've had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. adults with weakened immune systems may have a lower response to the vaccine.

the most common side effects were pain and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and joint pain. i want to be able to keep my plans. that's why i chose to get vaccinated with prevnar 20. because just one dose can help protect me from pneumococcal pneumonia. ask your doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated with prevnar 20 today. here's candice... who works from home, and then works from home. but she can handle pickup, even when her bladder makes a little drop-off. because candice has poise, poise under pressure and poise in her pants. it takes poise. to help prevent bleeding gums, try saying hello gumwash with parodontax active gum health. it kills 99% of plaque bacteria and forms an antibacterial shield. try parodontax active gum health mouthwash. as a small business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving with comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network.

with no line activation fees or term contracts. saving you up to $500 a year. so boost your bottom line by switching today. get the new samsung galaxy s22 series on comcast business mobile and for a limited time save up to $750 on a new samsung device with eligible trade-in.

welcome back to our special coverage on msnbc from warsaw. western intelligence officials are watching closely for any signs belarus might engage and send troops. it's been basing troops for russia but send its troops to the offensive in ukraine. they may be laying the groundwork to let russia position nuclear weapons on their territory. with me is svetlana with the exile belarusian opposition leader, the main candidate in the disputed 2020 election.

it's very good to meet you virtually. you've been meeting with officials here in poland. can you shed any light to the nature of your talks in poland as to what might be going on in belarus? >> at every meeting i explain why belarus and regime are not the same. it's not the people who attacked ukraine, but the regime of lukashenko. i want to make sure that the voice of ordinary belarusian people is heard. the belarusians who fight for our freedom and support ukraine and at the same time, we are trying to make sure that belarus has a place on the european map. we don't want to be part of the russian empire or someone's influence. belarus shouldn't be a bargaining chip in talks about future power of the region, so i advocate for sanctions on the

regime but what is more important is the implementation. sanctions are imposed but there is no control over the implementation, so we shouldn't allow kremlin or lukashenko to avoid responsibility for their crimes. >> what do you want from the united states? what would you want to tell president biden? >> i'm not planning to meet president biden bilaterally, but i will join the event with his participation, he in warsaw and, but if i see him, i would ask him to keep belarus in focus. lukashenko's regime who ceased power after 2020 became putin's accomplice and opened a shortcut to kyiv for russian troops. if you stop lukashenko's regime, it will help ukraine to win.

belarusians maybe join and fight alongside ukrainians now. >> how concerned are you about what russia might do with belarus in terms of positioning nuclear weapons there as well? >> the so-called constitution was done by illegitimate regime and the paragraphs about non-nuclear of the status of our country is deleted and from this so-called new constitution, it means that on demand of kremlin, lukashenko now given his power with the help of violence in our country, he can deploy nuclear weapon on our territory and of course it will be a huge threat not only for our country for ukraine but also for europe.

>> and what has been the reaction in belarus to president lukashenko being such a close ally, just a complete ally of putin in this illegal invasion? >> belarusians don't want this war. we received new data and only 4.8% of belarusians support the involvement of belarusian troops on the side of russia. the absolute majority of lukashenko's supporters also oppose the war, and he knows it, and sending troops to ukraine will be like a suicide for him. however, propaganda works quite efficiently and we see those russian state tv trust the russian narrative like it's ukrainian bombing ukrainian

cities, therefore we should educate people and explain what is happening and a lot of media are oppressed in our country so we have to cope with a network, we launched the anti war movement also. >> it's a privilege to speak with you. thank you so much for sharing some thoughts with us today. on what many people believe should be the legitimate government in belarus. thanks again for being with us. we are waiting today of course for that major address with the white house saying is a major address from president biden expected later today, after he gets his first look at the real scope of the refugee crisis here in poland, having talked to the president of poland and met with refugees and aid workers. we'll talk to a without official what to expect. that's coming next. you're watching special coverage

on msnbc from warsaw today. we'll be right back. ...so you can find just the right plan for you. like the “visit a doctor anywhere our rv takes us” plan. the “zero copays means more money for rumba lessons” plan. ♪♪ and the “visit my doctor while eating pancakes” plan. unitedhealthcare is the #1 medicare plan provider, so you're sure to find the right plan for you. including the only plans with the aarp name. get medicare with more. (customer) [reading] save yourself?! money with farmers? including the only plans with the aarp name. (burke) that's not wrong. when you switch your home and auto policies to farmers, you could save yourself an average of seven hundred and thirty dollars. (customer) that's something. (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers. ♪we are farmers.bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum♪ at jp morgan, the only definition of wealth that matters is yours. it can be a smaller house, but a bigger nest egg. a goal to work toward, or the freedom to walk away.

with 200 years of experience, personalized advice, and commission free trades on an award-winning app, we are working for you. planning. investing. advice. jp morgan wealth management. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ with a bit more thought we can all do our part to keep plastic out of the ocean. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

(music throughout) [ sirens ] below us we see in advance of the motorcade the first signs of what is going to be the presidential motorcade, if that is not the motorcade behind me.

it's approaching, actually as these advances, the presidential motorcade advanced team is coming and you'll see behind me matt miller who joins us now from the white house team. as you can see, these scenes live from warsaw, the presidential motorcade approaching through the streets. people are lined up. it's a very, cold, windy day. they have people behind bicycle racks so the streets have been cleared as you would expect for the president of the united states. this his first visit to warsaw, since the invasion. he's been here many times in the past, and matt miller, let's talk about what the president is expected to accomplish in the meeting about to take place with

president duda. >> reporter: hey, andrea. it's good to be here. a little hard to hear you with the president moving through. so the president in his meeting with the president of poland today will continue the effort he started really a month ago, really before russia's invasion but continued through the invasion and highlighted in his trip to brussels to rally our partners and our allies in europe as well as partners in asia and north america to do two things, one, to flow security assistance into ukraine, to flow humanitarian assistance into ukraine and into the neighboring countries like poland, who have born the brunt of the refugee and humanitarian crisis aentwo, to continue to impose serious consequences on russia for its actions, the subject of the conversations he had in brussels and subject of his conversation with president duda today and i think a good bit of the

substance of his speech tonight >> this is a long motorcade, right below the balcony where i'm sitting. it's pretty extraordinary. everything that has been assembled for this trip on such short notice, matt miller, the president said how much he wanted to go to ukraine himself. obviously that wasn't going to happen. that would be extraordinary for him to come into a war zone with so little preparation and so little ability to protect him but he really wanted to get a firsthand look. he's gone to war zones before as vice president. he was in afghanistan, in iraq. i was on one of those trips to iraq and saw exactly how he operated back in 2010 i believe when he was vice president but let's talk about what's at stake here, because, matt, the world order really has changed. it was only in june that he was meeting, i was there in geneva, when his meeting with vladimir putin and thinking that he could actually reestablish a relationship with putin, that there was some hope, and what we've seen now is that putin

even then was massing troops at the border of ukraine. i came to geneva from ukraine, talking with secretary blinken about this very threat. the threat has materialized. u.s. intelligence was all over it in recent months and analyzing putin's moves, but what do you think is happening now what the general, the top general, the number two defense minister said about how they had accomplished their main purpose and trying to nail donbask in the eastern part of ukraine largely controlled by the russian separate is since 2014. do you think they're giving up on taking control of the whole country >> reporter: i think there's a healthy bit of spin from the russian ministry of defense. two things. number one, it's clear russia is frustrated how the war is gone. i think they expected to take kyiv and other major cities and

they've not been able to because the ukrainians fought bravely, heroically and have partners who have flown security assistance, anti armor weapons, anti aircraft systems, millions of rounds of ammunition to support them in that fight, and i also think we have always tried to pay attention to what russia does, not just what it says, because they have misled the world from the beginning since they started massing troops on the border in october, and we started warning the world, as you alluded to russia did plan to invade and they said of course, that's not true. the u.s. was fear mongering, so we'll pay attention to what they do over the coming days, not just what they say. >> do you think that this was spin not just for world consumption but for russian consumption and they still could be planning to move to the west, that this is just a pause or a recalibration? they certainly have sufficient manpower and air power

eventually to control this whole country if they really want to demolish the cities as they demolished mariupol? >> reporter: well, they certainly can continue to impose massive brutality, massive humanitarian costs on ukraine. it's clear they can bomb cities, it's clear they can shell cities. what is also clear the president said they will never accomplish their strategic objecttive here. one of the things we learned over the past month is that russia will ultimately fail. they'll never subjugate ukraine the way president putin wants to. whether the announcement is intended to appease the domestic audience or explain the poor performance of the russian military, it remains to be seen. i think they have failed to accomplish their initial objective. they'll leave this contest

significantly weaker at home, weaker as a world power abroad and unable to fully conquer ukraine and put the ukrainian people under their thumb as they intended from the outset. >> how serious do you think the threat is that vladimir putin cornered would use chemical weapons or biological weapons or worst case scenario nuclear weapons? >> reporter: we're very concerned about the threat of chemical and biological weapons. one of the things that worries us the most is the russians over the past few weeks have continued to talk about the ukrainians using chemical and biological weapons which is nonsense. the ukrainians have no such weapons. what we've seen when they make accusations against others it's a pretext for themselves. we communicated to the russians publicly and directly in private conversations there will be a severe price if they use chemical, biological weapons a

price imposed not just by the united states but the entire coalition we put together to oppose russian aggression. >> matt, as you've been talking, we've got a shot of the polish president coming out to greet president biden, he's just getting out of the limousine, which are flown on c-17s, the vehicles, the special protected vehicles, you can see president biden moving into frame right now, moving forward, the red carpet reception as he goes into the presidential palace, just about a block from where we are on a balcony overlooking all of this, extraordinary imagery of president biden in war time greeting the leader of a front line state, poland, of course, a nato member, with war forces here. there's a lot of talk whether the additional military we'll be

positioning, matt miller, is going to include a permanent base. we've got the 82nd airborne. we've got the nato forces here as well, u.s. troops part of that. we saw the president with the 82nd airborne. we see the president going down the receiving line, there's a lot at stake here. the president has promised $1 billion in aid for refugees, that came out of a budget bill that was passed a week and a half ago and signed by the president. he's also talking, matt, about accepting 100,000 refugees from ukraine into the u.s. poland would like to see that. u.s. officials have been saying that most of these refugees do want to stay in europe, where they can have better chance of getting back to ukraine and their homeland, but there have been ukrainian refugees who have come to our southern border and have had red tape in seeking asylum here so matt, there's real question as to how we can accommodate them, because on that promise from the president,

about 100,000 ukrainian refugees being accepted, there was no time line, there was no date set and the president, frankly, hat not met his goal of 125,000 refugees worldwide being accepted into the u.s. in the past year, and he's only had fewer than 10,000, maybe 7,000 from around the world. now you see secretary blinken shaking hands with president duda from poland and defense secretary lloyd austin. they met earlier today. there's jake sullivan, the national security adviser. they met earlier today with ukrainian officials importantly, matt, the first chance the president's had to talk to the foreign minister since the 22nd of february, two days before the invasion in washington. there's sam powers, samantha powers, the head of usaid, who has been meeting with refugees and so important to the

humanitarian effort here. as the two men go in for this very important meeting, the president of poland wants more help. is there more that the u.s. can do, matt, than has already been promised, and more to cut the red tape for ukrainian refugees getting into the u.s.? >> there is, andrea. that's exactly what we intend to do, first with respect to -- sure. >> let's just pause for a moment. >> reporter: sure. >> as we listen to the national anthem, matt, we'll pick this up, take a quick break and come back to you. ♪♪ [ "usa national anthem"

playing ] ♪♪ [ national anthem playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ [ indiscernible ]

♪♪ >> as we see the two presidents, president of poland and the president of the united states reviewing the troops, you're hearing the anthems, and now the honor guard, with all the formality of a state visit. a very cold, windy day. a little less windy where they are at ground level. we're several stories up on the balcony overlooking all of this. this is the presidential palace in warsaw, with all the pomp and circumstance that accompany a state visit, but of course, the talks themselves, as they go in, are going to be very serious indeed, talking about poland's

military needs, its desire for more nato support as a front line state, its concerns about russia's eventual goals here. are they pulling back, as was suggested by defense minister, the deputy defense minister in moscow, or is this just a strategic move, a tactical move because of their losses to regroup, get reinforcements from georgia, as has been reported by the pentagon, and bring more force to bear against ukraine right across the border from of course the polish government. poland has taken in more than 2 million of 3.7 million, more than 3.7 million refugees from ukraine. it's bearing the burden of this. they need financial assistance. they need more humanitarian aid.

they are a key to getting u.s. military assistance across the border. we see president biden again with president duda. they're about to go in for these critical talks. matt miller, you're still watching this as well. our relationship with poland has changed appreciably, and with a number of these other front line states, where there are issues that, frankly, the biden administration has had to ignore, issues of anti-democratic movements across eastern europe in recent years, crackdowns on a free press, but right now, it's all about backing up their military needs as front line states against vladimir putin.

is it not? >> reporter: well, what i'll say, andrea, is that the president, you know, did announce this week a significant amount of humanitarian aid to this region, and it will not just to help the ukraine refugees but also to help the countries that are focused on dealing with those refugees and dealing with that mass influx of people. but in the speech that the president makes tonight, he's not just going to talk about the significance of this immediate fight, the war between russia and ukraine, but also put it in the broader context and talk about how this really is a fight between the forces of freedom, between democracies and between autocracies and about how, since the fall of the cold war, in the last 30 years, we have seen autocracy begin to rise again, and the forces that want to push nationalism and crack down on freedom of speech and freedom of expression have begun to rise, and so the president is here in warsaw, a place with such significance in the fight against oppression over the years, a place that stood in the

1980s at the forefront of the movement to overthrow soviet domination of eastern europe. the president will put that in context to talk about this fight between russia and ukraine is the next battle between the forces of freedom on one side against autocracy and oppression on the other. >> and one of other thing i wanted to ask you about, matt, what is china going to do? so far they've seen, and kelly o'donnell will be joining us as well, they're telling us there's no sign yet of appreciable support by china to back up russia and try to help them evade sanctions. they could do it financially. they could do it militarily of course, but they're hoping that president xi and an important conversation listened to president biden's very strong warning and what he said repeatedly, which is that china

needs europe, china needs the u.s. markets and those markets in europe and the u.s. are far bigger than what he would get from russia, what he ever has gotten from russia, which is a much, much weaker, smaller economy so they are hoping president xi, who is the only person who could really influence putin in backing down will not help back up russia and he's also certainly suggested that there could be serious sanctions against china, if china were to do that. matt? >> reporter: so we've been very clear that if china does offer material support to russia for the brutal invasion, that there will be consequences. we talked with our allies and partners about that, the same allies and partners who imposed serious consequences on russia for its actions, and the president has communicated that directly to president xi, as you mentioned it. we also communicated other levels of our government to the chinese government. we think this is a time that

every nation in the world has to pick which side it stands on. does it want to stand on the side of an aggressor, who has tried to, who invaded its neighbor to try to overthrow its sovereignty, try to change its boundaries unilaterally or does it support the rule of law, rul, does it support the international rules as they stand, as they've stood since the end of world war ii that no nation can change the board boarders of a sovereign country by force. it's time to decide where you stand on that. >> thank you for previewing that big speech that we're going to carry live on msnbc later today. and as the president continues to talk to president duda live we'll be right back. and how they're dealing with russia's claim to a new military strategy. russia's claim to a new military strategy new dove men stress-relief body wash... with a plant-based adaptogen,

helps alleviate stress on skin. so you can get back in sync. new dove men. a restorative shower for body and mind. step up. prep up. to help keep you free from the risk of hiv. descovy for prep. a once-daily prescription medicine... ...that helps lower the chances of getting hiv through sex. it's not for everyone. descovy for prep has not been studied in people assigned female at birth. talk to your doctor to find out if it's right for you. descovy is another way to prep. descovy does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections, so it's important to use safer sex practices and get tested regularly. you must be hiv-negative to take descovy for prep. so, you need to get tested for hiv immediately before and at least every 3 months while taking it. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away. they may check to confirm you are still hiv-negative. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure.

rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. the most common side effect was diarrhea. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking descovy without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about your risk of hiv... ...and if descovy for prep is right for you. get help paying for descovy for prep. learn more at stepupprepup.com. if you have type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure you're a target for chronic kidney disease. you can already have it and not know it. if you have chronic kidney disease your kidney health could depend on what you do today. ♪far-xi-ga♪ farxiga is a pill that works in the kidneys to help slow the progression of chronic kidney disease. farxiga can cause serious side effects including dehydration, urinary tract or genital yeast infections in women and men, and low blood sugar. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may lead to death. a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur.

stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection, an allergic reaction, or ketoacidosis. and don't take it if you are on dialysis. take aim at chronic kidney disease by talking to your doctor and asking about farxiga. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. ♪far-xi-ga♪ wayfair's got just what you need to be outdoorsy. astrazeneca may be able to help. your way! shop the biggest selection of outdoor furniture and furnish your habitat from your habitat. get a new grill and cook over an open flame. now that's outdoorsy! go wild on garden decor, find shelter from the elements and from predators or just be one with nature. this year spend less and go all outdoorsy at wayfair. ♪ wayfair you got just what i need ♪

welcome back. to warsaw, as we've been reporting russia is reporting that the war is entering a new stage. what does that mean? one of the top generals saying troops will prioritize the eastern donbas region, signaling a scaling back of russia's original goals. could the shift in strategy bring some relief to ukrainians. i'm joined by jacob soboroff in lviv, ukraine, western ukraine. not far from the polish border. how are people reacting to this? could this really be that vladimir putin has been beaten back from his original goals, which we know which he said were to take ukraine and get rid of the government? >> reporter: andrea, i think it could be some of each. i think that ukrainians certainly don't believe a word of what comes out of russia and from the russians, several ukrainians have said as much to me over the course of my time here. one, including someone deeply

involved in the humanitarian efforts here said that to me this morning when i ran into her at a local coffee shop here in lviv. the fact of the matter is, we heard from a deputy ukrainian prime minister this morning saying as many as 100,000 people could be still trapped, needed to be evacuated from mariupol. it could be an admission of sorts that that offensive by the russians here is faltering in some way. but on the other hand, the idea that it would provide relief for ukrainians, i just don't think that there is any measure of trust in any way, shape, or form from people in this city or anywhere else in this country for what's coming out of the kremlin. >> and we know that president zelenskyy again was speaking to another forum, an international forum, he still wants more weapons from the u.s., particularly more anti-tank or

anti-aircraft weapons. >> reporter: not just anti-tank weapons you and i talked about the other day his request to israel, he's looking for anti-missile defense systems he would like the iron dome from israel, he would like anti-tank and anti-missile defense systems, increased sanctions. he continues to plead almost on a daily basis to countries around the globe for increased military and humanitarian aid. >> thank you to jacob soboroff and our colleagues today and our team here in warsaw. i'll be back at 11:00. thank you for watching this special coverage from warsaw on msnbc. ali velshi will pick it up for me after this quick break. we are live in warsaw. k break. we are live in warsaw. with a plant-based adaptogen, helps alleviate stress on skin. so you can get back in sync. new dove men. a restorative shower for body and mind.

hey businesses! you all deserve something epic! so we're giving every business, our best deals on every iphone - including the iphone 13 pro with 5g. that's the one with the amazing camera? yep! every business deserves it... like one's that re-opened! hi, we have an appointment. and every new business that just opened! like aromatherapy rugs! i'll take one in blue please! it's not complicated. at&t is giving new and existing business customers our best deals on every iphone. ♪ ♪ you know liberty mutual customizes your car insurance,

so you only pay for what you need? oh, like how i customized this scarf? wow, first time? check out this backpack i made for marco. oh yeah? well, check out this tux. oh, nice. that'll go perfect with these. dude... those are so fire. [whines] only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ (music throughout)

only pay for what you need. this is elodia. she's a recording artist. 1 of 10 million people that comcast has connected to affordable internet in the last 10 years. and this is emmanuel, a future recording artist, and one of the millions of students we're connecting throughout the next 10. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students, past... and present, can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities.

i'm ali velshi in warsaw, poland. it is 2:00 p.m. here. president biden has just arrived. we just saw the motorcade go by to the building next door which is the presidential palace. this is the end of a very long trip for president biden. he's been in europe now for a few days. landing in brussels on thursday for an important meeting with nato. the group of nato dignitaries have met, they've